Boys & Sex
Young Men on Hook-ups, Love, Porn, Consent and Navigating the New Masculinity
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- $159.00
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- $159.00
Descripción editorial
The New York Times Bestseller
Peggy Orenstein broke ground with her bestselling Girls & Sex, exploring young women's right to pleasure and agency in sexual encounters. Now she turns her focus to boys with an examination of how young men are navigating sexual culture in these changing times - and what we need to do help them.
Drawing on comprehensive interviews with young men, psychologists and experts in the field, Boys & Sex dissects 'locker room talk'; pornography as the new sex education; the role of empathy; boys' understanding of hookup culture and consent; and their experience as both perpetrators and victims of sexual assault.
By presenting young men's experience in all its complexity, Orenstein unravels the hidden truths, hard lessons and important realities of young male sexuality in today's world. The result is a provocative and paradigm-shifting work that offers a much-needed vision of how boys can truly move forward as better men.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Journalist Orenstein (Girls & Sex) talks with high school and college-age boys and men about sex in this candid and fascinating portrait of young American masculinity. Conducting more than 100 interviews with males ages 16 22 throughout America, Orenstein shares a narrative of "toxic masculinity" exemplified by emotional suppression, casual homophobia, and bragging about sexual conquests and unveils a "historically unprecedented" availability and habitual watching of porn, with boys beginning to watch it as early as sixth grade. The damaging effects of this trend are reflected in misconceptions about women, and also result in boys who are unprepared for real-life relationships. Orenstein's scope is wide, as she delves into the lives of gay and transgender boys and men and interviews young black men at predominantly white schools who stringently follow the rules of "consent," wary of severe punishment for any hint of improper behavior. Among other conclusions, the author demands that parents "get over it" and talk openly with their kids about sex and intimacy. The #MeToo movement, she asserts, is not only a chance for girls to expose sexual misconduct, but also an opportunity to raise boys up to be compassionate, responsible men. Expertly written and sometimes disturbing, but always informative, Orenstein's latest is a valuable reference for parents of teenage boys and young men.
